Match Preview: India vs New Zealand 2nd T20, Rajkot 2017

Second T20 International match of the series between India and New Zealand will be played at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot on 4th November 2017. Second T20I will be played at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, while the first was played back in 2013 between India and Australia. And India won that game by chasing 201. It has a high scoring pitch. According to the weather report, the temperature will be around 28º during match hours.

India coming with winning the first match in Delhi and also the first against New Zealand in total six played against them. A perfect farewell to the Ashish Nehra, who retired after the match. India posted the mammoth total of 202, which the help of the 80s from both openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. Indian bowlers were perfect in line on the slow turning pitch. India played with the five bowlers’ combination, which paid off. Regular wickets fall made the Kiwis helpless. In the 2nd T20, it will be interesting to see if India plays with five bowlers or not. If India plays with five bowlers than Mohammed Siraj is likely to get the chance otherwise it will be the choice between Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, and Lokesh Rahul.

New Zealand both the department bowling and batting were not up to the mark. Bowlers were not able to pick early wickets, which helped India to build a total of 202 out of which 158 was the opening partnership. On the other hand, regular fall of New Zealand batsmen made them look crumbled while chasing.

After losing the first match New Zealand had slipped to the second position in ICC T20 International Ranking. If New Zealand loses the second T20, then it will slip to 5th position. If India wins this match then they will move to the second position with Pakistan on the first position.